Daily Update, August 9, 2023

 Wednesday, Auntie Barbara and Michele came to the house a bit before lunch. Auntie Barbara visited with Mom, singing songs, while I fed Val... well, while I tried again to feed Val breakfast, because he'd flat-out refused the one I'd given him at breakfast time, and I didn't notice sooner.

Then we joined Michele in the car and chatted on the way down to Kamana Senior Center. We enquired about activities, but Auntie Barbara wants to find a senior center closer to where she lives - there's one in the nearest town, and one in another town in between, so she is planning to check those. As for me, I'm 54, and until I turn 55, I'm too young to get into any of their classes, even the ones that start in the first couple of weeks of January, since my birthday is January 25th. I'll just have to wait until the next session starts in March. but then I can see what they're offering, and whether it includes any dance classes I can join. {smile}

Next, we went to Island Naturals, where I got some salmon pasta, and an apple/spinach/macadamia nut salad. We drove to Liliu'okalani gardens and found a spot to park. Every shaded table had a person sitting at it, so we ate in the car, enjoying the view. auntie Barbara was fading, but had time for one stop, so we went to the YMCA, where I learned that the relatively modest membership would go down a few dollars at 55, but you can start before. And I might get fees reduced or waived by my insurance if I check. There are also class fees, but they're even smaller. It's the most promising and the scariest. They have a couple of line dances, but one is too soon after church, and the other too early... but two hula classes look well timed but... can I do it? I have had promising interactions with hula teachers, but also very discouraging ones with other hula teachers. It's... going to feel risky, reaching out, and trying to figure out if this will work. It would be so much easier to try for an adaptive class, but... I didn't see any of those which were ethnic dance. Then Auntie Barbara and Michele took me home after the YMCA. {Smile}

I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I read scripture and thoughts about it first. Next, I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from last year. Then I read the last few pages in _Movie Stars: Memory Lane_, showing her the pictures, and finished that book by reading the back cover. She seemed more engaged once she had pictures to look at, and that included the next two books, too. For after that, I read a few poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_, and all of those are illustrated. I finished with the August 9th story, "Lady Scarecrow," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. The farmer was disgusted with the crows in his crops, so he hauled the old scarecrow out of the barn. The mice had taken their old clothes, so he dressed it in a hat and coat of his wife's, sure that would scare them into thinking it was her. One crow investigated, and reported to the rest of the crows that it was just the scarecrow. The scarecrow was terribly embarrassed by their laughter, until the crows begged the scarecrow to be their friend. {Smile}

I did my arm resistance exercises, and half my arm swinging exercises. I also did at least 5 minutes of walking while out with Auntie Barbara and Michele, and probably less than 5 minutes of salsa dancing. Unfortunately, the salsa dancing ended when I got entirely too dizzy, and I couldn't fix it easily. I should have done arm weight training too, but the head, walking, and leg exercises were cancelled due to dizziness, as was half my arm swinging exercises. At that point, I was uncertain about my standing weight training, and just didn't continue while I had time. {small smile}

After getting home, I read comics and articles, really longer than I meant to. I eventually hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I didn't find anyone to team up with, but I noticed it was just before the later short, large-group event, so I joined that. I discovered bowlofdro was there, too, so we chatted a bit while we played. When it was done, I moved on to join the later long, large-group event. The paperwork from that took me to time to read to Mom. {Smile}

After dinner, I contacted Ulty and Kitten, and we three teamed up. However, Ulty left because she was suddenly tired after one short mission. Then, I switched characters, and Kitten and I ran a few missions. Perogies joined us, helping us with the last mission before I tried to break for salsa dance, but that didn't work out. I got too dizzy, and it didn't recover. I found Kitten on a team that was trying to add Perogies, too. I think I helped them work that out, and we ran a couple more missions. I also did what exercises I did get done, which weren't quite all I could have done. Then I worked on writing, this, and got distracted with articles, which pushed things late enough, i still didn't get this fully written until the next day. {smile}

Daily Update, August 8, 2023

    Today I finished arranging by text with Auntie Barbara to go out for a picnic and to check out the senior center and maye a few other places tomorrow morning. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued with more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from last year. After that, I showed Mom some more in _Movie Stars: Memory Lane_. Next, I read several poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I finished with the August 8th story, "Gino's Oasis," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Gino, a young Genie only knew a few tricks, not like his father, a big strong genie. Still, his magic teacher gave him a test: a handful of date, a flask of water, and a question: how long could he last in the desert? He dug a hole, put the dates in it, covered them up, and poured the water on them. Overnight, date palms sprang up. Then he dug a hole to reclaim some of the water, making a spring. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises, arm swinging exercises, and leg exercises during lulls in City of Heroes. I did my arm resistance exercises, my walking exercises and what arm weight training exercises the arm that had the flu shot yesterday thought were a good idea after Phonso's trials. I did my salsa dancing, later, both warmup and less structured dancing. {Smile}

   I finished yesterday's daily update after breakfast, then read some comics and articles up to and through lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes much earlier than usual. I did find Perogies, and we started to get together, but he had to break for family. I like it when my friends put family first. So, I worked on some more badges for my fifth best badge collector. I was happily surprised at how quickly Perogies came back. He claimed to feel guilty, and wanted to do my story arcs, when before he'd wanted to break for the early long, large-group event. We started a mission, but Chili Bear was leading, and having a lot of trouble getting enough folks in that event. So, I suggested we help him, and we did. afterwards, Perogies and I got back together, and started running missions. Then Ulty came in, and I invited her to join us, which she did. We played until Perogies got so tired, he had to quit, and Ulty said she'd better break, too. I realized it was early enough, that after a bit of paperwork, I took a long break to clean myself up, and got done in plenty of time to feed Val before reading to Mom, which was perfect. I think I even slipped a little more paperwork in. {Smile}

   After dinner, I found a note from Ulty that she had another early morning, so was having an early night. Sure enough, she was not in City of Heroes: Homecoming when I joined and didn't show up all night. However, Perogies was there, and Azurette, and the three of us teamed up, planning to do more missions. But we bumped into Chili Bear, who wanted to show off the progress on one of his bases, especially a new restaurant. So, we joined him. We were winding down when Phonso invited us to a trial. Perogies said he was too tired, and said goodnight, heading to bed. Chili Bear declined, too, but Azurette was up for it, so we joined Phonso, myself switching to my fourth best badge collector so she could work on a badge. Phonso recruited the trial quickly, and we ran it with less trouble than sometimes. Then Phonso switched characters, and so did Azurette. the rewards are best the first time, but the badge my character is working on kept me playing her as we ran it again. Then Phonso left to find food, and Azurette decided she needed a break, too. So, I worked on my exercises, with paperwork on my breaks. Then I did some badge collecting on my fifth best badge collector again, since I realized she could own that distinction better with some more badges. I also did some paperwork, and wrote this up, but I'll only have time to share it in the quick places before bed. The rest will have to wait until tomorrow. {Smile} 

Daily Update, August 7, 2023

    Monday, I contacted Uber, and got a nice gal I've ridden with several times. We had a particularly nice chat on the way down, I think. {Smile}

   She took me to Safeway to pick up the medication I didn't get yesterday, and I found one more ready than they'd mentioned yesterday. I also asked about shots. My Covid 19 shots were already up to date, but I hadn't had this season's flu shot yet, and my Shingles vaccine was so old, they didn't even have a record of it. A newer, better one has come out more recently. So, I had both done. Then I walked over to HFS Federal Credit Union. To my surprise, the walk only took 12 minutes. I think standing in line and doing the banking I wanted to do took almost as long. Then I walked over to Enjoy Comics and took significantly longer browsing comics. I finally picked out two. As I left the store, I realized I hadn't noticed how long the walk over had taken. However, the walk to where I order Uber took another 4 minutes, so I gave myself about that much. I'd been thinking I might get the forty minutes of walking that gives me a day off, but I didn't even get the full 30 minutes my therapist said was a day's exercise. that's okay. Over half was outside, in the heat, so I'm probably better off not doing too much. {Smile}

   I contacted Uber, and a fellow picked me up. He was quiet until I tried talking to him, and tried again when he didn't respond. He apologized, saying he thought I was phoning someone, and we had a nice chat the rest of the way home, mostly about comics, which I'm into and he used to be. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I first read scripture and thoughts about it. I continued with more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from last year. Then, I showed Mom some more in _Movie Stars: Memory Lane_. I stopped abruptly when she seemed times and moved on to a few poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I finished with the August 7th story, "Pom's Big Catch," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. all the bears were fishing, but Pom, a bear cub, was having trouble. He either scared the fish away or fell in. Then he scared some fishermen away, causing them to drop their fishing rods. He tried a rod, and caught six fish in one day, impressing all the other bears. {Smile}

   In addition to the 20 minutes of walking, I did 8 1/2 minutes of salsa dancing, my full warmup. Then I did my walking exercises, my arm resistance exercises, and my head exercises. At that point, I realized I was tired, and stopped. Between the salsa dancing plus the walking being a bit over my daily goal between them, and the shots, I think I won't feel too bad about not finishing up. {Smile}

   I finished up yesterday's daily update after breakfast, and before going to get the medicine and other errands. Then I read some comics and articles and didn't get into City of Heroes: Homecoming until I suddenly realized it was later than I thought. Once in there, I quickly found Perogies. He warned he'd be leaving early because he was tired. We ran several missions, and he stayed until time to read to Mom anyway. {Smile}

   After supper, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. Finding no one I often team with on, I did some paperwork. I also contacted Ulty on the chat server, and she came in. We started roleplaying with our favorite pair of characters. Phonso invited us to do a task force, but we declined. Ulty thought it was late for her to start that particular one which can be long. Ulty and I kept at it, mixing roleplaying with out-of-character chatting, continuing long after Phonso's task force finished and he left, but she eventually left when she felt herself fading. After Ulty left, I worked on my exercises, though I didn't get them all, despite having less to do. I also did some paperwork, and worked on this daily update, though I ended up making notes and finishing the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 6, 2023

    Today was Sunday, so after breakfast, I contacted Uber, and a nice, chatty driver took me to church. It was later than I like, but the car was only a few minutes away, so I still got there before the first hymn. I sat with Auntie Barbara, who was sitting with a family she's adopted much the way she's adopted me. There's a mother who brings two little boys to church. I occasionally hear about the husband and father, but I don't think I've met him, and he and his wife have different, full work schedules, so one of them can watch the boys when the other can't. {Smile}

   I sat with Auntie Barbara during lunch, and we had a nice chat with the others around us. Then we went to the car, and I called Safeway to see if a prescription was ready. It was, as were two more, but they were almost to their lunch break. Auntie Barbara suggested picking them up later this afternoon... if I hadn't been so busy, I would have. {smile}

   Anyway, Auntie Barbara took me home, and came into visit with Mom. We sang a few songs, and, since Auntie Barbara had asked about the song and finger game, and since our main nurse had been off when it happened, and wasn't now, I told them about the song she'd remembered three of four lines of. It was "the Itsy-Bitsy Spider." Auntie Barbara wanted to sing it today, and with auntie Barbara leading, Mom remembered all four lines. {SMILE}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued her niece's long family Christmas letter from last year. Next, I showed Mom the front and back covers of _Movie Stars: Memory Lane_, reading the back cover, then reading and showing her the first few pages of that book. After that, I read some poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I tried to sing because it was a song I used to know, but I could not remember the melody well enough to sing it. I finished with the August 6th story, "Where's the Wolf?" from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A rabbit was waiting for his otter friend, who was late. Looking out the window, he spotted his old enemy, a fox. He got dressed up in a wolf skin, and scared the fox away when he answered the door in it. Then his otter friend came, and he got scared away when the rabbit opened the door still wearing the wolfskin. {Smile}

   I did my walking exercises, leg exercises, arm resistance exercises, and arm swinging exercises right after did. I did both my standing and sitting arm weight training shortly after with the new, adjustable weights, once I'd gotten them adjusted, and while waiting for Kitten to be free. I did my head exercises when Kitten still wasn't free. Yes, I did over 20 minutes of salsa dancing, including both warmup and less structured dancing. {Smile}

   After I saw Auntie Barbara up, I cleaned myself up. Then I hopped online and finished yesterday's daily update and shared it. Then I read a minimum of comics to catch up with that and hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. There, I found Ulty and Kitten eager to team up. As I was arranging to team with both of them, Perogies came in and wanted to join, too. We did, and chatted a bit, especially Ulty, Perogies, and I. Perogies asked if a friend of theirs could join, and I added them, too. Then we teamed up for the rest of my afternoon, running missions together, and chatting both in-character as roleplay, and out-of-character, as just us. We went right up to when I broke to read to Mom. Ulty did warn me that she probably wouldn't be on after my dinner, because she had an early morning. {Smile}

   After dinner and most of my exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I found Kitten, but I didn't notice they'd said hi at first, and by the time I did notice, they were halfway through a closed arc. We tried to catch each other when it ended, but I was so busy doing exercises while I waited, my character looked inactive when Kitten tried to talk to me, so they joined another round, which filled before I knew about it. So, we had to wait again. This time, after I finished my exercises, I collected badges on my third best badge collector to make sure she was active. This did help Kitten and I get together, though we dithered a bit to both of our frustration before figuring out what we wanted to do. We ended up doing a story arc I had that I think had reset to the beginning at some point. Then we did a few missions of another story arc I had, until it was time for me to exercise. I missed talking to Nox on the chat server, but Kitten and I chatted on the chat server between my sets of exercise. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 5, 2023

    Saturday, the housekeeper came a while after breakfast. The house is definitely better for her efforts. {Smile}

   I texted Auntie Barbara after dinner, and she called me back. We had a nice little chat. It was nice talking with her. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner at about my usual time. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I started her niece's long family Christmas letter from last year. Then I showed Mom the rest of the pictures in _Exploring Kittens_. After that, I read some poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I sang two because they were songs that I remembered the melody to and did one finger game. An early finger game I didn't do... I don't remember it from when I was a kid, so I didn't think Mom was likely to, either. But the second we did often, so I did it for her, and she watched. I finished with the August 5th story, "The Windmill," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A windmill was bored. There had been no wind for three days, and he had nothing to do but watch the sparrows. A sparrow felt sorry for him and got a bunch of sparrows together. They all perched on a single arm of the windmill and got them turning. The windmill thanks them, and they said it was fun, and wanted to come back tomorrow. {Smile}

   I did my walking exercises, arm swinging exercises, and arm resistance exercises before reading to Mom. I did my standing exercises and one of my sitting arm weight training exercises between reading to Mom and dinner. I did a head exercise during a lull in City of Heroes. I did over 20 minutes of salsa dancing, including both warmup and less structured dancing, after Kitten and I finished teaming for the night. I did the rest of my head exercises and the rest of my arm resistance exercises, both standing and sitting, around the same time as my salsa dancing, too. {Smile}

   I finished writing the day before's daily update after breakfast. Then I caught up on my comics and hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming around lunch time -- yes, even earlier than yesterday. Still no sign of Div again, but I found Kitten, and they let me do some paperwork before we teamed up. I found Perogies, too, and said hi, but they seemed busy in a farm. We teamed up with me on the mid-level-ish character we teamed on the day before and started doing missions. Not long after Kitten and I got going, Perogies said hi and asked to join, which I was happy to help with. He was on the villain, but particularly liked the level I was working at, so we teamed up, and kept going until it was time to read to Mom. {Smile}

After dinner, I found a note from Ulty, and one from Kitten, both on the chat server.  They prompted me to hop into City of Heroes: Homecoming, hoping to see them. I saw Ulty, but not Kitten, so Ulty and I started to roleplay. Then Kitten came in. We shifted to roleplaying-in-missions so Kitten could join us. Perogies came in and joined us too. Then another friend I teamed with a few nights ago came in and joined us as well. After a while, Ulty left, with Perogies so leaving so close after, it was essentially the same time. I changed characters, and Kitten, the other friend, and I teamed for a couple of missions before the other friend left. Then Kitten and I kept teaming right up to time to exercise. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 4, 2023

    Today, I contacted Uber, and went down to Petco at Prince Kuhio Plaza, and got every non-Friskies treat with a hard shell and soft center. Then I contacted Uber again and came right back home. Val really loves the one I'm trying first. I think I was right: somehow the Friskies I'd replaced the Purina with - and maybe the Purina too - were upsetting his digestive tract. I'll know for certain if the borderline diarrhea he started having last weekend disappears. {Smile}

   I ate Breakfast, lunch and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner, though later than I meant to, because I lost track of time while playing city of Heroes on Homecoming. maybe that's why she was less responsive than sometimes, though she did surprise me at one point. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. After that, I continued with Christmas cards from her cousin, her nephew, church, and another cousin of hers. Then I showed Mom several more pictures in _Exploring Kittens_. Next, I read some poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I sang a few when they were songs, I remembered the melody to, and this is where she surprised me. When it came to the Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Mom sang along, remembering three of the four lines. I ended my reading with the August 4th story, "The lake Fairy," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A lake fairy got caught out late at night, visiting her forest fairy friend, and was in danger of turning into a waterfall if she didn't' reach her home in time. She tried following a friendly tortoise, but the animal moved so slowly, she wasn't getting back in time. At the last moment, she wished on a star to get home in time. the star shot across the sky, she followed, and was back in her lake in time. {Smile}

   I did my exercises, though some were late to very late, others weren't. I did my arm swinging early, when I was waiting for Uber to come get me to go to the pet store. I did my head exercises and one arm weight training exercise during lulls in the game in the evening. I did most of the arm weight training exercises, both sitting and standing, my arm resistance exercises, my standing exercises, and my walking exercises after Kitten and I broke for the evening. However, I did the last of my sitting arm weight training exercises too late. Still, I got it done. {Smile}

   I wrote yesterday's daily update after breakfast, before going to the pet store. After I came home and had lunch, I hopped right into City fo Heroes: Homecoming, hoping to catch Div, since it was an hour earlier than usual, and half an hour before the time they said they're out by at the latest. No such luck. So, I did paperwork until Kitten and Perogies both hopped in about half an hour later, kitten actually excited to see me on earlier. I teamed up with them, and Perogies picked the mid-level villains again. We ran the next arc until I suddenly realized I should have stopped to read to Mom a while back. {blush, rueful smile}

   After dinner, I hopped over to the chat server, and let Ulty know I was going into City of Heroes: Homecoming. Then I hopped into it. Ulty wasn't there, but Kitten was, so we got ready to team up on a slightly lower-level character than the one I usually roleplay with Ulty on. Ulty came in just as we were getting going. I greeted her, and asked if she minded if Kitten teamed with us. She said Kitten was more than welcome, so the three of us got together, with Ulty and me on our roleplaying pair, and ran several missions. Suddenly Ulty declared she'd hit a wall, and she'd better quit. So, we said goodnight. I switched to the character I'd been going to team with Kitten on before Ulty arrived, and Kitten and I ran another mission. They admitted after a mission that they were tired but didn't really seem to want to leave. Since they did perk up after that, I figured we could continue. So, we ran a few more missions before they admitted they were too tired. We said goodnight, and I finally got serious about my exercises. After most of my exercises - but somehow not quite all - I did some paperwork and worked on this, doing a mix of true writing and notes to write it properly from the next day. I read barely any comics at all, all day. Tomorrow will have to be a catch-up day. Fortunately, there are no errands expected tomorrow, though I do expect the housekeeper, a personal chore, and salsa dancing. {Smile} 

Daily Update, August 3, 2023

    Thursday started with online counselling after breakfast. That went well, I think. We talked a lot, about stuff that felt productive somehow. {Smile}

   I called my financial counselor. She was supposed to call me back, but didn't, so I tried again and got her. I shared a piece of information I learned last night that I've bene trying to get, and also sorted out some mail. Then I actually did that mail chore, finally getting it out of the way. {Smile}

   I got a call from the nursing company, too, touching base and such. {Smile}

   I ate lunch and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued with a longish Christmas card from a friend. After that I showed Mom several more pictures in _Exploring Kittens_. I felt able to go longer today, since Mom seemed more awake today, though she wasn't saying as much as sometimes. Next, I read some poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I ended my reading with the August 3rd story, "The Timid Fawn," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A fawn's mother encouraged her to go take a walk by herself. She went with the blue tit when that bird volunteered to go with her. She met some rabbits, but they all dashed to safety when the badger said to. A wildcat was nearby, but the fawn's father, the stag, chased it off. {Smile}

   I got my head exercises done really late - well after Perogies left again, when I was done with soloing, and starting to concentrate on writing this. But I just finished all my head exercises, which are all I need to do today. So, they are done. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics after the counselling and the phone call with my financial adviser. Then I finished the day before's daily update over lunch. After that, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after personal chores after everything else. I didn't find anyone, so I got into more comics. Then I came back to find bowlofdro trying to get me into the short, large-group event, and Perogies trying to talk. Oops. I really need to pay more attention to the game when I'm trying to find friends to hang out with. I joined Perogies in some villain missions, helping him complete the last mission of a story arc he had, then running most of the missions of a story arc I had. That took us up to time to read to Mom. {Smile}

   I came back from dinner to find a note from Ulty apologizing for being busy. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming and soon found Div. I haven't heard or seen them since April! We talked for hours. A lot was them catching me up with all that's happened with them and talking a lot about their frustration with some base-builders who've set themselves up in City of Heroes: Homecoming as authorities on the subject. Michael, a friend on the chat server showed up after months of quiet, too, and we chatted on and off until I went offline for the night. I also talked with Nox on the chat server. While Div was moving towards leaving, Perogies showed up. I joined them in a farm when Div left, and we chatted, too. Nox left a little while into the farm. Perogies eventually left. Then I did a mix of badge collecting and writing this, followed by a mixture of taking notes for this and talking to Michael, with talking to Michael the last before I finally headed to bed, getting into it about as late as I can be without being too unhappy with myself. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 2, 2023

    Wednesday was the last physical therapy until we get it restarted. The therapy place recommends waiting a month, then going to my doctor, and getting a new therapy request. I've heard this before; it's apparently standard operating procedure with my health insurance carrier. {smile}

   I contacted Uber, and a fairly chatty male driver took me over to Life Care Center. {Smile}

   The session went well, though I had to admit I hadn't found a dance class I feel confident about yet. I have lokoed, both before and since, but I want to find something that seems fairly open to... well, to accommodating a disability, and in dance... that isn't always easy to come by. {rueful smile}

   I paid my bill before leaving, since I don't expect to be back soon. Then I contacted Uber, and a gal with a thick accent took me home. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I read 3 cards: a Christmas card from her niece, then a Christmas card from a friend, and lastly a birthday card from me. After that I started showed Mom some more pictures in _Exploring Kittens_, a whole book of pictures of kittens exploring whatever the photographer put out for them. I tried not to go too long, since Mom seemed more tired today. Next, I read a few poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I ended my reading with the August 2nd story, "Rufus's Hedgehog," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Rufus was a little boy who lived near the woods liked to feed the animals every day, including a hedgehog family. One day, only baby hedgehog came, looking sad and very hungry. When he came back alone the next day, Rufus took him in, feeding him for a couple weeks, and carrying him around in his backpack. Even when Rufus let the hedgehog go, he came back for rides. {Smile}

   No exercise beyond physical therapy. {Smile}

   I read comics and articles over lunch, and finished Tuesday's daily update. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: homecoming, where I found Perogies right off. We chatted, then teamed upon a couple of middling to high level villains at Perogies's request. We finished an arc of mine, even though some of the missions were old. After that, we chatted a bit before it was time to read to Mom. {Smile}

After dinner, I found a note from Ulty saying she couldn't come in tonight. I missed her, but understand she has other obligations. I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming and did a little paperwork. Phonso came in and invited me to do a trial. I happily joined him. He recruited a full team more easily than sometimes, and we ran the trial. Unfortunately, the group was terrible at following directions, so some things that can go quickly took several tries to work. this wore Phonso out so much, he left to recover and eat earlier than usual. He did sound tired. I ended up badge-collecting on my third best badge-collector, who has some catching up to do with the first and second-best badge collectors. Then I tried to look for a dance group I'd like to join...I didn't have much luck. This may take some thinking. That also took enough time that I just took notes to finish writing this up the next day again. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 1, 2023

    Our deacon visited a little after lunch today. She talked to mom and me and gave us home communion. It was really nice seeing her a little outside of church, and getting to visit too was even better. {Smile}

   The secretary from our nursing company came by to pick up the check and ask how we're doing. I think we're mostly good. {Smile}

   I had a nice long talk with our main nurse after dinner. I enjoyed it. He's not often in this chatty a mood. {Smile}

   I got a phone call from Auntie Barbara after dinner. It was nice talking with her. {SMILE}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Next. I finished her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. After that I started showing Mom pictures in _Exploring Kittens_, a whole book of pictures of kittens exploring whatever the photographer put out for them. Next, I took out two books, but ended up just reading several more poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. Mom seemed to like some of the poem today, so I think I chose well. She even sounded happy when I got to "Humpty Dumpty.: I ended my reading with the August 1st story, "The Wounded lamb," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Two sisters and a brother found a wounded lamb while playing hide and seek. They bandaged up the wound and nursed it back to health. {Smile}

   I did my arm swinging exercises, arm resistance exercises, and standing arm weight training exercises after our deacon visited. I did my standing exercises and my walking exercises after dinner and the talk with our main nurse. I did 20 minutes of salsa dance only a little later than usual but didn't have any problem fitting it into the time. It's so nice to be able to do that, and not feel bad. {Smile}

   I read articles in the morning, and comics and more articles over and after lunch, especially while waiting for our deacon. I didn't want to get into the game only to have to step away for a visitor who I knew would take a chuck of time. After she'd left, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming, checked paperwork quickly, and found Kitten soon. We teamed up and got the rest of the badges from that complicated mission in two more runs. Then we discussed badges we each still have to get. We were just getting ready to run another mission I had that contributes slightly to a badge when I realized I had some pressing paperwork. I did it...and Kitten fell asleep before I was done. I waited for them, but they were fast sleep, so I ended up leaving to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises that I did then, I spotted both Kitten and Perogies on a team - yes, the same one - and Ulty on another team. Kitten's and Perogies's team filled just before I could join, so I checked with Ulty. However, her team couldn't accept new members during the mission they were doing. A new spot cleared on Kitten's and Perogies's team, much to our relief. All three of us really wanted to team, and they were doing an arc I enjoy. Running that arc took most of the evening. Then we talked right up to and into my exercises. Perogies didn't leave until I was doing my second set of dancing. Kitten found a new group at the same time. I did miss chatting with Nox; we settled for saying good, with me responding particularly late at that. I did some paperwork, finished my sitting exercises, and watched videos until I realized I'd better make notes to finish writing this up the next day, which I did. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 31, 2023

    I had a pretty quiet day, with no appointments, no other trips, no visitors... not even phone calls or mail-chores. Well, unless you count ordering envelopes from Amazon because the envelopes I ordered couldn't be written on. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. After that I read the last several pages of _Classic Fashion 40s 50s Memories_. Next, I read several poems from _Mother Goose Treasury_. I ended my reading with the July 31st story, "Two's company," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A tortoise named Tallulah was friends with Kim, a huge, shaggy dog. Tallulah wasn't friendly with Tomkin the cat. However, she and Kim seemed surprisingly close and comfortable with each other, even eating together. {smile}

   I did my arm resistance exercises, standing arm weight training exercises, leg exercises, and arm swinging exercises after dinner. I did my head exercises later, when I wasn't playing as much anymore. I also did over 20 minutes of salsa dancing, including both warmup and less structured dancing. I did my walking exercises and my sitting arm weight training exercises after the salsa dancing, which is pretty late, but I did get them done. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics in the morning, with comics especially over lunch. Then I finished writing up yesterday's daily update, and got into City of heroes: Homecoming late, but not as late as yesterday. There, I did some quick paperwork, and teamed up with Kitten, who helped me get three badges in three of those complex missions. Only two more badges to go - three if you count the badge for getting the full set of badges. bowlofdro let me know there was space in the later short, large-group event, but I was so happy with how the badge collecting was going, I didn't want to switch. Perogies came in near the end and helped us, as well. {Smile}

   I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming after dinner and my exercises. There, I talked with Ulty, and connected with her other account. However, I teamed with Kitten, and someone who turned out to be an acquaintance of me for a couple more runs of the complex missions. The acquaintance left abruptly, but Phonso invited us to a pretty high-level taskforce. Kitten and I joined him after our mission, and recruiting didn't take too long. So, then we ran that. I talked with Phonso a little and Kitten more about some insecurities that had cropped up. I also chatted with Nox on the chat server. I talked a lot with kitten after the task force. Then we joined a group who got a complex monster before I broke to dance. Kitten and I talked a bit around the dancing. I did a little paperwork after the dancing, then joined Perogies in a farm, chatting with them. I also talked a little more with kitten, and I wrote this up, making notes for the last part, to finish the next day. {Smile}